Alternative learning center thrives in Tondo’s courage

MANILA – In the narrow, soot-streaked alleys of Tondo, where fires have become as frequent as storms, a small learning center continues to light the way for children who have lost almost everything.

“Fire follows us. Some of us are trying to rise again, while some people simply cannot get back up,” Mariafe Hulipaz, a para-teacher at the Eskwelayan learning center run by Samahan tungo sa Maayos na Tahanan at Hanapbuhay (SMTH), told Bulatlat. “The arson attacks keep coming one after another.”

SMTH, a grassroots partner of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), manages one of the few safe spaces left for children in the area. The organization was established in 2016 due to the threats of demolition, mainly advocating for the residents’ rights for housing and livelihood.

The organization was chosen for IFI’s Eskwelayan program because of the various problems the community faces like poverty, housing insecurity, lack of access to education and healthcare, recurring disasters, and threats to their democratic rights.

Blazing fire

In just two months, fires razed entire blocks of Tondo’s crowded neighborhood. On August 5, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) reported that around 4,500 residents were left homeless. Another blaze on September 13 swept through Happy Land, displacing 1,100 families. Authorities cited electrical issues or possible arson as the cause.

For community members of SMTH, the consecutive fires coincide with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s plan to establish a waste-to-energy facility in Manila.

The City of Manila is eyeing its first waste-to-energy plant at the Smokey Mountain site in Tondo. The project which costs about ?26.648 billion has been pushed by Manila Integrated Environment Corp. which is majority-owned by Philippine Ecology Systems Corp. (PHILECO). 

The plan lists support from Kanadevia Corporation, a major Japanese industrial and engineering corporation. Meanwhile, PHILECO is chaired by businessman Reghis M. Romero II who is one of Manila’s garbage collection contractors.

“We are tending to the needs of other children who experienced trauma,” said Hulipaz. “The trauma is still there. Even us, para-teachers, are trying to assist ourselves.”

Economic, learning poverty

Eskwelayan in Tondo attends to the needs of 50 children. Many are public school students or out-of-school youth. Some are vulnerable to solvent abuse or have parents working as scavengers.

“Most of the parents came from urban poor families. Some of them are working as scavengers and do not have the capacity to send their children to schools because they do not have money,” Hulipaz said.

All learning resources, health and nutrition assistance, and some logistical needs are being funded by the Iglesia Filipina Independiente through the Eskwelayan program. 

“All the children and youth we are tending to are studying and eating for free. Not all children here can eat meals at home,” Hulipaz said.

Lucena Bartolome sends four of her grandchildren to Eskwelayan. She said in the vernacular, “Students take what they learn at school back to their homes and communities. The teachers are actively helping our children and inspiring them to learn.”

Her grandson Mark Dave Bartolome is now in fourth grade. He attends learning sessions in the Eskwelayan and since then, Lucena said, he learned how to read and write well, and socialize with people.

“I am happy in Eskwelayan,” Mark said in a phone interview with Bulatlat. “They taught us our rights, the right to play and to be educated, to respect other people, to be given a name.”

According to the latest Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), around 18 million high school graduates may be functionally illiterate. 

“Functional literacy” means higher-level comprehension skills beyond basic reading, writing, and numeracy. In an earlier report of Bulatlat, child rights group Salinlahi attributed it to public education-related problems like 159,000 backlog in classrooms, 86,000 shortage of teachers, almost half of public schools not having principals, 5,000 schools not having electricity, and 10,000 schools not having access to clean water.

Read: 18 million ‘functionally illiterate’ grads linked to public education woes

Tailor-fit learning

In Tondo’s Eskwelayan, para-teachers identify the gaps in the learning of the children before they design the educational program, providing tailor-fit education to the needs of the children in the communities.

“If they find it hard to write at their age, we will focus more on that. We are filling their gaps in schools,” Hulipaz said.

For early learners, lessons focus on cognitive, language, and emotional development. Older children learn anatomy, basic sex education, human rights, and social issues. The teachers also hold sessions with parents to strengthen child care and family support.

“We also have to teach the parents on how to properly take care of their children, based on their best interests,” Hulipaz said. “We also tell them what we teach to the children.”

Source of strength

After 37 years of working with the Manila Department of Social Welfare (MDSW), Hulipaz suffered a stroke in 2023 that forced her to stop teaching.

“I personally feel weak when I am not teaching. This year, when I found out that they need a para-teacher for three to five years old, I grabbed the chance to go back. I regained my strength because I missed working with children,” Hulipaz said.

The Eskwelayan in Tondo has also partnered with Kapatiran Kaunlaran Foundation to endorse the out-of-school youth they have assisted to the public schools. 

Despite the inspirational work that they do and the absence of government support for this grassroots initiative, they have been subjected to political vilification, surveillance, and harassment. 

Different kind of fire

In March 2023, soldiers began visiting the daycare center daily, taking photographs and asking for personal information. By February 2024, the harassment escalated. A Facebook post from the 11th Civil Military Operations “Kaugnayan” Battalion red-tagged community members, accusing them of being supporters of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army.

Some residents were tagged as members of SMTH under the pretext of “fake surrenders.” Another post indicated that they would later sign a commitment of support to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Last year, the Supreme Court said that red-tagging threatens a person’s life, liberty, and security. It was also last year that the members and para-teachers from SMTH filed a formal complaint on the Commission of Human Rights regarding the series of harassment they experienced from military personnel.

“We did not cower in fear. We stand as a community — us standing together is a source of strength. There are a lot of challenges but if we continue to be united, we can overcome them,” Hulipaz said.

In a city where homes are made of scrap wood and tin, the Eskwelayan has become a rare sanctuary not only for learning but also for rebuilding dignity and strengthening community. (DAA)

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